Darrell Markewitz is a professional blacksmith who specializes in the Viking Age. He designed the living History program for L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC (Parks Canada) and worked on a number of major international exhibits. A recent passion is experimental iron smelting.
'Hammered Out Bits' focuses primarily on IRON and the VIKING AGE

Thursday, May 10, 2018

This first image shows how the sculpture appeared just after Kelly Probyn-Smith and I completed installing the metal pyramid framework, and attaching all the bottles - Friday May 4.
The location is at the SW end of the main bridge in Elora, across from the LCBO. (This location is where a number of my earlier contributions have been mounted.)

The completed (mark 1 version) sculpture used over 160 disposable water bottles. The gathering process, and observations from that, would influence the selection and attachment. (This described in some detail in an early commentary - 'Water, Water, Everywhere...)

1) 25 % of the bottles used were from Nestle 'Pure Life' brand.
These proved easy to spot, as Nestle uses a distinctive bottle shape, with a slight pinching in the centre. Of the bottles gathered, Nestle made a clear 25% of the total as well. One face of the pyramid was covered with just this type. This face is the one that faces the main viewing angle - towards the sidewalk (right side in the image above).

2) The remaining 75 % / three sides are covered with bottles that were found to be all from the Feversham source. Again this bottle shape proved distinctive (a corrugated cylinder).

3) Off all the bottles collected, only three were found of the 'Ice River Green' brand (also from Feversham). These were placed at the apex of those three faces of the pyramid.

There were a few more bottles collected than needed to fill the framework.
About three times as many.

Friday, May 4? Remember that massive wind storm?
Plastic bags full of almost weightless plastic bottles?
We ended up, several times, chasing bottles downwind, across the road and down the embankment at the base of the bridge.

While gathering up our wayward bottles, we found a few more strewn as garbage.
A good dozen.
Over an area about twice the size of our living room at Wareham.
One, Nestle brand, was still full, with the cap still sealed, when it was tossed.

Kelly's initial suggestion was to string up lines of the remaining bottles and loop them into the inside of the pyramid. (We had lots more, remember!)
I took the two aspects experienced above, and instead made up a total of six more long strings.
These were tied into the top, inside of the pyramid, but left to run free along the ground at the base. The length was random, but none can extend more than about 18 inches beyond the lower base diameter. (So none long enough to actually trail outwards on to the sidewalk.)
This will both 'fill' the inside of the pyramid, but also create a kind of visual 'mess' around the base of the sculpture :

Modified - view to SE

Modified - view towards NW

This also provides a motion dynamic to the sculpture.
The bottles hanging inside twist and turn with even a slight breeze.
More wind will push the longer strung lines around, shifting their overall position over time. Likely over the installation, these will become a bit of tangled mess, but again this contributes, rather than detracts, to the overall concept.

As it turns out, this also adds a sonic aspect to the piece, again as the strung bottles shift and knock against each other.

I also liked the new format for the label plaque:

'Amy Corner & Burke Maidlow' - listed as sponsors

So - out of a little adversity can come Inspiration.
I think the final version is a stronger statement than the original concept.

The Elora Sculpture Project includes a total of a dozen individual works, set onto fixed bases around downtown. Individual artists / designs were chosen by competition. The contributing artists *loan* these works for the period of the ESP, May through end of October (although some may be offered for sale by the artists).The concept has been picked up by nearby Fergus, and starting this year, Haliburton.

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Ontario Arts Council

Canada Council

Ontario Arts Council

February - May 2012 : 'Bloom to Bar' Project Grant

February 15 - May 15, 2012 : Supported by a Crafts Projects - Creation and Development Grant

COPYRIGHT NOTICE -
All posted text and images @ Darrell Markewitz. No duplication, in whole
or in part, is permitted without the author's expressed written permission.
For a detailed copyright statement : go HERE